I had never noticed this before analyzing the carol for this post, but the ivy is mentioned in the first line and then it just disappears. Here are the first two lines:
The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.
Wouldn’t you expect that there would be a third line explaining the role of the ivy, something that starts out with “Of all the vines that are in the wood, the ivy bears . . . ” But there isn’t. Here’s somewhat of a explanation from an academic website:
The lyrics are somewhat puzzling. The first line is “The Holly and the Ivy,“ yet ivy is mentioned nowhere else in the carol except in the last verse, which is a repeat of the first verse. Holly is given the starring role in the song and ivy is ignored, so it seems strange that ivy is even mentioned.
The explanation that is often given is that the first line in the carol is a remnant of the old custom of linking holly and ivy together. In the rest of the carol ivy isn’t needed. The “holly” in the carol refers to Christ and the theme of the carol is his life. (“English Ivy Symbolism, Traditions, and Mythology“)Here’s a full set of the lyrics:
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown.
(usually repeated at the end)
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir.
As white as lily [or any] flow’r
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our dear Saviour
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good.
As sharp as any thorn
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
As bitter as any gall
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
You do have to remember that any true folk song was passed down orally for a number of years or generations before being written. There may indeed have been something about the ivy in earlier versions of the carol, but those lines are now lost. So let’s look at what we have.
First of all, as you probably know, many of our Christmas customs have nothing to do with Christianity at all but have their roots in pagan and/or folk celebrations, and this connection also applies to many of our carols. The three plants that are most tied to Christmas, at least in Britain, are holly, ivy and mistletoe, because in the native woods of Britain these were the three that stayed green throughout the winter. (The only native pine tree in Britain is the Scots pine, which is the national tree of Scotland but apparently wasn’t found south of there back in the time of this carol.) These plants were seen as sacred long before the coming of Christianity and Christmas. I can’t possibly take the time here to go into detail about the various folk tales and myths that are connected with them, but here are a few highlights. I do realize that mistletoe isn’t mentioned in this carol, but it’s so fascinating that I just can’t resist, so I’ll deal with it first.
Mistletoe is associated with the winter solstice because it bears white berries around that time, so when Christmas took over that date the plant followed along. Various pagan societies looked upon the mistletoe as miraculous, since it seemed to just appear on the trees, although others realized that its seeds were being deposited on the trees by means of bird droppings. Supposedly, the name of the plant comes from two Anglo-Saxon words that mean “dung” and “twig.” Romantic, huh? And as for the kissing under the mistletoe, that’s a whole ‘nother story, one that may or may not have anything to do with the plant itself. I will just say that Norse mythology, or at least some versions of it, have the god Baldur being killed with an arrow made of mistletoe, shot by the nefarious Loki. Baldur’s mother was Frigga, the goddess of love, and she managed to bring her son back to life. In gratitude she made the mistletoe a symbol of love instead of death, and any man catching a woman standing under it could kiss her.
On to the holly and ivy. I was fascinated to find out that holly was traditionally seen as representing masculinity and ivy as femininity. It seems pretty clear how this association came about, as the holly was seen as being upright and strong and the ivy as twining and clinging. (I didn’t come up with this symbolism, so don’t blame me.) In some ancient English villages there were midwinter singing contests between the men and the women, with each sex praising his or her symbolic plant and badmouthing the other. There was then a reconciliation of the two groups “under the mistletoe.” An old song called “The Contest between the Holly and the Ivy” celebrates this tradition. Here are a couple of the verses:
Holly stands in the hall, fair to behold:
Ivy stands without the door, she is full sore a cold.
Holly and his merry men, they dance and they sing,
Ivy and her maidens, they weep and they wring.
Chorus:
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
As long as the ivy resists the mastery of the holly it’s cast out in the cold. (See the “don’t blame me” statement above.)
Our carol takes over the symbolism of the holly, applies it to the coming of Christ, and drops out the ivy. Some sources have the ivy as symbolic of the Virgin Mary, which would make sense in the Christianized view of these plants, but that association is not made clear in this particular carol. Instead, the holly “bears” something in each verse and Mary “bore” Jesus Christ. If you read the verses carefully you’ll see that the references to the different parts of the holly all have to do with the Crucifixion and not with Christmas itself: So the white blossom of the holly refers to the idea of salvation from sin (“to be our sweet Saviour”) and the red berries refer to the blood of Christ which will “do poor sinners good.” The “prickle” of the holly that is “sharp as any thorn” obviously refers to the crown of thorns, and the bitter bark of the holly refers to the “wine mingled with gall” which was offered to Christ on the cross and which he refused to drink. (Gall is a sedative; biblical scholars think that Jesus refused it for that reason. In any case, gall is very bitter and therefore can symbolize the agonies of death with or without the specific scriptural reference.)
One idea that struck me as I was writing this article: the holly with its deep green leaves and red berries is probably the reason for red and green being seen as traditional Christmas colors. An obvious point, I guess.
I have always thought that the refrain must be a leftover from the original lyrics, because it has absolutely nothing to do with the ideas in the verses, but some scholars postulate that these lines were added later. Either way, the pictures that come to mind are lovely: deer running through snowy woods, the sun rising, and people singing in celebration.
Here’s a performance of the carol with an arrangement by John Rutter. (You can never go wrong with a Rutter Christmas arrangement!)
And here’s a version by the peerless Christmas Revels, with a different tune:
My own choir, the Cherry Creek Chorale in the Denver area, is performing a fabulous arrangement of this carol by the composer/arranger Kelly Hale, a longtime now-retired faculty member at the Cincinnati Conservatory, where he taught voice, conducting and opera. Dr. Hale is a longtime friend of the Chorale and will be attending our performance, where, I believe, he himself will play the organ part, joined by oboe and flute players. As I write this post in early November, the Chorale is excitedly working on his piece, which has a different style for each verse that matches the meaning. Our concert is Dec. 8 & 9, 2023. Join us if you live in the area!
©Debi Simons
